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MOM’s survey shows more employers providing family—friendly benefits
Channel NewsAsia - Tuesday, December 23
SINGAPORE: The latest Manpower Ministry survey showed that more employers are providing family—friendly benefits, including paternity leave. The use of flexible working arrangements has also increased in Singapore.
The government has been trying to get more companies to provide flexible working arrangements so as to help older workers stay employed, and get more women back into the workforce.
And more companies are heeding the call. The proportion of private sector employees on flexible working arrangement increased from 5.1 per cent in 2006 to 7.4 per cent this year.
Including the public sector, the figure is 9.4 per cent. However, this figure still lags behind other developed countries that have 15 to 25 per cent of their workforce on flexible working arrangements.
The deputy secretary—general of NTUC, Halimah Yacob, said: "We talk to employers and some of them say it is a question of difficulty in administering such diverse working patterns in the workforce. Some say it is a question of cost... while some say 'well we don’t have the expertise to do it’.
"And there are some companies who do not know how to assess people’s performance, how to set measurables... so it also boils down to the need for employers to look at more creative ways to measure outcome.
"Employers should understand that flexibility is something that a lot more workers are looking forward to.
"Surveys have been done to show that people, when deciding whether they want to stick with a company in the long term, don’t only look at the salaries and benefits, but also look at the flexibility it gives for them to take care of their family needs."
Staggered working hours was the most commonly practised, accounting for 5.1 per cent of all employees. This is followed by part—time working arrangement, with 3.4 per cent of all employees.
The other forms of flexible working arrangements, such as flexi—time and teleworking, accounted for 0.9 per cent of employees.
Restaurants, retail trade, as well as broadcasting and publishing had the highest proportion of employees on flexible working arrangements.
The Manpower Ministry survey of 2,940 companies also found that about 47 per cent of these companies granted paternity leave, though larger companies were more likely to have this practice, as compared to smaller companies.
One reason why many smaller companies is not granting paternity leave is because of the cost of implementing this benefit.
Many companies surveyed also provided non—statutory benefits such as compassionate leave and marriage leave to employees — 85 per cent of these establishments granted compassionate leave, while 70 per cent gave marriage leave.
On average, men earned 27 per cent more than women in Singapore last year. In 2007, men earned an average of S$4,335 a month, while women received S$3,148.
And in many small, medium enterprises, men hold senior positions and their absence will have a larger impact.
— CNA/yt
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